© Alister Thorpe

Modern small garden ideas

Whether you want minimalist design, Japanese elegance or an intimate green retreat, you’ll find lots of inspiration for modern small gardens in our expert guides below. Photograph Alister Thorpe

Subscribe to Gardens Illustrated magazine and get your first 3 issues for only £5!
Published: September 12, 2023 at 9:44 am

If you have a small garden and want it to be a stylish and modern space, but also a tranquil sanctuary with lush planting schemes, we have lots of ideas for you.

Among our many articles below about modern small garden ideas you’ll find expert advice about lighting up shaded spaces, using limited colour palettes to create cohesion in small gardens, and choosing bold statement pieces that can double as sculpture and seating.

Creating contrasts is another important element of modern garden design, which designer Tom Massey utilises in one of his city gardens, contrasting modernist hard landscaping with soft, shaggy grasses. Contrasts can also be carried through into planting schemes, which Sheila Jack uses in one of her garden designs, adding splashes of bright colour among textural green planting.

Whether you want minimalist design, Japanese elegance or an intimate green retreat, you’ll find lots of inspiration for modern small garden ideas in our articles below

Gardens Illustrated

A white garden in the city

4/1/2023
Designer Sheila Jack’s sparing use of colour in her own city garden transforms a partially shaded space into a luminous oasis of calm, just when she needs it at the end of a busy day. Words Belinda Cooper, Photographs Britt Willoughby Dyer
more
gardens
small-gardens
town-and-city

Gardens Illustrated

A space revived: a small courtyard garden in London

4/27/2022
Landscape architect George Cullis has transformed a dark, enclosed London courtyard into a green oasis, alive with birds, insects and the subtle rhythms of nature. Photographs Katharine Peachey
more
gardens
small-gardens
town-and-city

Gardens Illustrated

A south London garden by Sheila Jack that's an elegant retreat

9/4/2020
A south London garden has been transformed into an elegant retreat with precision-cut concrete and sublimely understated planting. Words Jodie Jones, photographs Lisa linder
more
garden-design
gardens
small-gardens
town-and-city

Gardens Illustrated

A tranquil urban sanctuary in central London designed by Alasdair Cameron

10/5/2020
In this city garden, designer Alasdair Cameron has made the most of wildly differing levels to create a dynamic yet tranquil modern space – a refuge from London’s busy street. Photographs Jason Ingram
more
gardens
small-gardens
town-and-city

Gardens Illustrated

How designer Erik Funneman maximised space in a small city garden

12/21/2020
Faced with the challenge of creating both privacy and spaces for seating and eating in a tiny city garden, Dutch designer Erik Funneman has used deep Corten steel planters to fill the space with green. Words Jonny Bruce, photographs Sietske de Vries
more
gardens
international
small-gardens
town-and-city

Gardens Illustrated

How to create an inner-city minimalist garden

7/5/2021
This bijou garden conjured from a typical London plot relies on the partnership between owners and designer for its continued success. Words Rae Spencer-Jones. Photographs Jason Ingram.
more
garden-design
gardens
small-gardens
town-and-city

Gardens Illustrated

How to create a Japanese-inspired small garden

7/21/2021
Designer James Aldridge has transformed a dilapidated south London garden using layers of planting and hard landscaping to soothing effect. Words Annie Gatti. Photographs Rachel Warne.
more
garden-advice
how-to
gardens
london
small-gardens
town-and-city

Gardens Illustrated

Colour and lightness in a small family garden designed by Jack Wallington

9/26/2023
A playful design by Jack Wallington for a family garden in south London is all about concealment and discovery – and for making memories. Words Natasha Goodfellow. Photographs Claire Takacs
more
garden-design
gardens
rss-apple-news
small-gardens

Gardens Illustrated

A tiny courtyard garden with a living wall in Utrecht

3/30/2022
Dutch designer Erik Funneman has used a living wall and green, year-round planting to enclose the tiny courtyard of an urban townhouse. Words Kate Jacobs, photographs Sietske de Vries
more
gardens
international
small-gardens

Gardens Illustrated

Modernist hard landscaping in a suburban garden

11/26/2022
Designer Tom Massey has contrasted modernist hard landscaping with shaggy and shimmering grasses in this small suburban garden in Twickenham. Words Kate Jacobs, Photographs Alister Thorpe.
more
garden-design
gardens
rss-apple-news
small-gardens
town-and-city

Gardens Illustrated

How to use colour and layers in small gardens

4/27/2022
Landscape architect George Cullis has transformed a dark, enclosed London courtyard into a green oasis using a limited colour palette. Here's how he makes colour work in a small garden
more
garden-design
garden-advice
how-to
gardens
small-gardens

Gardens Illustrated

A suburban Suffolk retreat by Colm Joseph

6/16/2022
In this once-overlooked suburban plot, designer Colm Joseph has created a modern gravel garden that offers a relaxing green retreat. Words Kate Jacobs Photographs Richard Bloom
more
garden-design
gardens
small-gardens
town-and-city

Gardens Illustrated

Inside designer Andy Sturgeon's own garden in Brighton

5/25/2023
We take a tour around Andy Sturgeon’s small coastal garden in Brighton, where hard landscaping is minimised to allow for plentiful planting. Words Annie Gatti, photographs by Jason Ingram.
more
garden-design
gardens
hard-landscaping
rss-apple-news
small-gardens
town-and-city

Gardens Illustrated

A small city meadow garden by Jenny Bloom

8/22/2023
For this garden in north London, designer Jenny Bloom drew inspiration from the unusually wild landscape on its fringes. Words Kate Jacobs. Photographs Richard Bloom.
more
gardens
rss-apple-news
small-gardens
town-and-city

Gardens Illustrated

Explore a wildlife-friendly meets urban London garden

2/27/2023
Prolific design duo Harris Bugg have created an exquisite slice of urban meadow in a wildlife-friendly garden in north London. Words Kendra Wilson. Photography Jason Ingram.
more
gardens
town-and-city
This website is owned and published by Our Media Ltd. www.ourmedia.co.uk
© Our Media 2024